Soulless
by HolyCowOfDoom
Summary: Can Oz fight the ghosts of his past and finally give in to his desires for once? Or will he remain the puppet of his father for the rest of his life? A desire not to desire. A desire not to need. A battle between his mind and his body.
1. Chapter 1: Pancaaakes!

**Heeeey theeeere. Welcome to my first ever story on and the interwebs as a whole!**

 **It's inspired by another fanfiction I have read recently, and still am. named ''recovery road'' by Ozlice101** **on**

 **I will take this story to a totally different direction than Recovery Road. I don't plan on stealing anything besides inspiration :p**

 **The cover image was drawn by my good friend ECZ! You can't find her online (yet).**

 **Just so you know, this story is not meant for the fast readers, and it will most definitely bore them.**

 **If you wish to enjoy this, take your time, read between the lines, not to toot my own horn.**

 ** _All characters and practically anything else are owned by Jun Mochizuki._**

 **\\-=_=moo=_=-/**

Dark crimson taints the hardwood flooring, as drops of blood splatter onto the ground.

The boy doesn't fight back, knowing he has no right to do so. He is pulled off his feet as a punch lands straight on his stomach and the force pushes him back.  
He slips on his own blood and falls backwards onto the ground. Even his body hates him. his head slams against the hard floor, sending a pulse of pain through his skull.

''Get up!''

his father snaps at him. The boy obeys and slowly stands up. Only to be slapped across the face and slammed against the wall. several more punches connect with his head and chest, breaking a few ribs in the progress.  
The boy makes no sound, no shriek, no cry, not even a sob as red tainted fluid pours out his nose and tears out of his eyes, all of which he would hold back if he physically could. He has learnt to keep silent, he has learnt not to fight back, to sit still and take it all, knowing from experience that it would be far worse if he doesn't, but when he gets a knee to his lower organs his natural reflexes get the better of him. A short shriek escapes his mouth as he quickly cuts it off and clenches his teeth. His knees give in and he falls to the floor, pulling his legs together to ease the thumping pain as subtle as possible. But his father notices and a crooked grin grows on his face.

''Did that hurt? What did I tell you? You don't deserve that! A useless little brat doesn't deserve to feel pain! You're just a puppet I found on the side of the street! YOU HAVE NO SOUL! I WOULD'VE KILLED YOU IF YOUR PURPOSE WAS ANYTHING BUT TO ENTERTAIN ME!''

The man slaps him on his forehead. The sound and impact are loud and hard enough to make his ears beep. His vision goes hazy and the new mark on his forehead throbs as he falls to the floor onto his side. The mark colors red as blood pumps through. His father mumbles something incomprehensible to him and walks to the middle of the room where lays a small plush black rabbit on the floor. Consciousness seeps out of Oz's muscles as his head slouches down to the floor and the last thing he sees before blacking out entirely is his father ripping off the head of the toy. Something indescribable inside of him ruptures and for the first time in a long time does a sincere tear trickle down his face, unaware to him of course.

When Oz wakes up he finds himself in an entirely different place than inside the pool of blood on a floor. He's in a soft bed covered in warm cotton blankets and his head is burrowed in a pillow filled with wool. His eyes are sticky, making blinking a tad harder than normal, and when he raises a hand to his face to feel it he realizes he had been crying. Not really understanding his current situation he sits up in his bed and tries to look around, but it is too dark to make out any of it.

He gets out of bed and instinctively walks towards the switch for the light. Once he turns it on he finally realizes he had been dreaming again. He tries to remember what exactly he had been dreaming about. Not the smartest idea. Memories of that day and more flood his mind. Tears start running down his cheeks at the remembrance of it. He tries to calm himself down with what he believes to be soothing words.

''It's ok! It's ok! Nothing bad happened! It wasn't bad at all!'',

but it isn't working, in fact it seems to make it worse. Teary snivels turns into weeps and he falls to the floor. weeps turn into sobs as he burrows his face in between his knees. It gets worse and worse as he continues trying to convince his body that nothing is wrong. Why can't it stop shaking? Why won't it listen to him? Why is he sad? Why is his body reacting this way? He doesn't understand. He puts his hands over his head and unintentionally starts wobbling as shrieks of fear and sadness escape him. He pulls his head back and hugs his legs tight so that he can sway faster. A few minutes pass until he starts screaming and the door to his room slams open. Oz doesn't notice it in his current state and yells ''GIIIIIL!'' loud and violently with a raspy tone, causing his voice to crack midway. The 19 year old Gil hurries to Oz's side and holds him in an affectionate embrace. Oz burrows his face into Gil's chest in between clenched fists, holding on for life Gil's black T-shirt as he continues to sob.

''Did you have a bad dream again?'' Gil asks with a sympathetic frown on his face.

''Y-yes?.'' the boy manages to crack through his sobs.

''It's ok, Oz, he won't hurt you anymore.'' Gil tries to console him. It doesn't help whatsoever. Oz bursts into another fit of shrieking. Though he knows he shouldn't, he can't control his body.

Half an hour passes and the crying dies down. He has no more tears to shed and has calmed down to a relatively silent weeping. Gil asks him if he wants to sleep with him tonight, it is only 2:30 in the middle of night after all. Oz just nods and mumbles affirmingly, unable to control the urge to say yes.

''Come'' Gil mutters in a soft voice and pulls him to his feet as he gets back on his feet, ''let's drink a cup of tea before going to bed, we're both wide awake now anyway.'' Gil smiles.

Oz knows that isn't true. He can clearly see that Gil is tired but he decides not to mention it.

Oz is a bit ashamed that he woke Gil up and bothered him again with his petty nightmares. And if he Tells Gil to take care of himself he would insist until he got his way anyway, so there's no point bothering, is his excuse, while somewhere inside he's just happy to drink tea together with Gil and doesn't want to let that feeling go. This same happiness angers him.

Oz changes out of his pajamas which are soaked in tears to another pair, washes his face in the bathroom and follows Gil, who had been waiting on him, to the kitchen at the end of the hallway for a hot cup of tea.

The next morning he wakes up peacefully, cuddling into Gil who is covering him with an arm. He silently squirms his way out of his grip, not wanting to wake him. He deserves to rest, since Oz is the reason he is tired anyway. He feels a small sense of guilt, thinking that he is just being a bother to Gil. This quickly fades away as he hears rumbling from the bed and Gil pops up from the hill of blankets, asking: ''What are you doing just standing there?'' with a smile on his face.

Oz just blinks and tilts his head to the side, not understanding what he means with that.

''Never mind…'' Gil sighs as he gets out of bed. ''Go get ready for breakfast.''

Oz obliges and walks out of the room towards his own. After he takes a shower he puts on the clothes he took from his wardrobe. He wears short black jeans and a simple grey T-shirt. Gil has bought most of his clothing for him. Oz noticed that Gil really likes dark colors, which he didn't understand at first. But he has to admit it looks kind of good on him. Another worthless thought of him.

He walks out of his room, past Gil's and the bathroom, down the hallway to the kitchen/living room. To his left he sees Gil, in front of the stove, looking down at the frying pan. He is making pancakes. And as the delicious scent of it reaches his nose a wide smile grows on his face, one he'd like to hide but doesn't seem to be able to. Gil looks up from the pancake to Oz and chuckles at the sight of his joyful expression, happy that he is feeling better.

''Pancakes!'' Oz cheers overjoyed, and jumps onto Gil, hugging his torso tightly. ''w-ho there!'' Gil tries to keep his balance.

''Calm down, will you? It's only pancakes!''

''But your pancakes are awesome!'' Oz exclaims excitedly. He's trying to calm himself down but it isn't really working.

''Get off of me, else you won't get any.''

Oz pouts and murmurs something on the lines of ''Be glad I want to hug you, ya loner.''

Gil's eye twitches but he decides to let that comment slide.

Not really though. He decides to put some salt in Oz's orange juice before taking a seat at the table.

''BUEGH! What is this!?'' Oz shrieks after taking a sip.

''Tastes normal to me.'' Gil replies with a playful smile on his face as he drinks from his own glass, after which a pancake droops down his face, leaving behind a trail of honey and an audibly laughing Oz. ''You little- !'' Gil screams as he gets out of his chair and starts tickling him right then and there, getting some half-hearted slaps and punches flinging his way in return.

And like that they start what was supposed to be a lazy Saturday, but part of Oz doesn't want to enjoy any of it.

\\-=moo=-/


	2. Chapter 2: Sweet dreams!

**Heeeey theeeere. Welcome to my first ever story on and the interwebs as a whole!**

 **It's inspired by another fanfiction I have read recently, and still am. named ''recovery road'' by Ozlice101** **on**

 **I will take this story to a totally different direction than Recovery Road. I don't plan on stealing anything besides inspiration :p**

 **The cover image was drawn by my good friend ECZ! You can't find her online (yet).**

 ** _All characters and practically anything else are owned by Jun Mochizuki._**

 **\\-=moo=-/**

Dark crimson taints the hardwood flooring, as drops of blood splatter onto the ground.

The boy doesn't fight back, knowing he has no right to do so. He is pulled off his feet as a punch lands straight on his stomach and the force pushes him back.  
He slips on his own blood and falls backwards onto the ground. Even his body hates him. his head slams against the hard floor, sending a pulse of pain through his skull. 

''Get up!''

his father snaps at him. The boy obeys and slowly stands up. Only to be slapped across the face and slammed against the wall. several more punches connect with his head and chest, breaking a few ribs in the progress.  
The boy makes no sound, no shriek, no cry, not even a sob as red tainted fluid pours out his nose and tears out of his eyes, all of which he would hold back if he physically could. He has learnt to keep silent, he has learnt not to fight back, to sit still and take it all, knowing from experience that it would be far worse if he doesn't, but when he gets a knee to his lower organs his natural reflexes get the better of him. A short shriek escapes his mouth as he quickly cuts it off and clenches his teeth. His knees give in and he falls to the floor, pulling his legs together to ease the thumping pain as subtle as possible. But his father notices and a crooked grin grows on his face.

''Did that hurt? What did I tell you? You don't deserve that! A useless little brat doesn't deserve to feel pain! You're just a puppet I found on the side of the street! YOU HAVE NO SOUL! I WOULD'VE KILLED YOU IF YOUR PURPOSE WAS ANYTHING BUT TO ENTERTAIN ME!''

The man slaps him on his forehead. The sound and impact are loud and hard enough to make his ears beep. His vision goes hazy and the new mark on his forehead throbs as he falls to the floor onto his side. The mark colors red as blood pumps through. His father mumbles something incomprehensible to him and walks to the middle of the room where lays a small plush black rabbit on the floor. Consciousness seeps out of Oz's muscles as his head slouches down to the floor and the last thing he sees before blacking out entirely is his father ripping off the head of the toy. Something indescribable inside of him ruptures and for the first time in a long time does a sincere tear trickle down his face, unaware to him of course.

When Oz wakes up he finds himself in an entirely different place than inside the pool of blood on a floor. He's in a soft bed covered in warm cotton blankets and his head is burrowed in a pillow filled with wool. His eyes are sticky, making blinking a tad harder than normal, and when he raises a hand to his face to feel it he realizes he had been crying. Not really understanding his current situation he sits up in his bed and tries to look around, but it is too dark to make out any of it.

He gets out of bed and instinctively walks towards the switch for the light. Once he turns it on he finally realizes he had been dreaming again. He tries to remember what exactly he had been dreaming about. Not the smartest idea. Memories of that day and more flood his mind. Tears start running down his cheeks at the remembrance of it. He tries to calm himself down with what he believes to be soothing words.

''It's ok! It's ok! Nothing bad happened! It wasn't bad at all!'',

but it isn't working, in fact it seems to make it worse. Teary snivels turns into weeps and he falls to the floor. weeps turn into sobs as he burrows his face in between his knees. It gets worse and worse as he continues trying to convince his body that nothing is wrong. Why can't it stop shaking? Why won't it listen to him? Why is he sad? Why is his body reacting this way? He doesn't understand. He puts his hands over his head and unintentionally starts wobbling as shrieks of fear and sadness escape him. He pulls his head back and hugs his legs tight so that he can sway faster. A few minutes pass until he starts screaming and the door to his room slams open. Oz doesn't notice it in his current state and yells ''GIIIIIL!'' loud and violently with a raspy tone, causing his voice to crack midway. The 19 year old Gil hurries to Oz's side and holds him in an affectionate embrace. Oz burrows his face into Gil's chest in between clenched fists, holding on for life Gil's black T-shirt as he continues to sob.

''Did you have a bad dream again?'' Gil asks with a sympathetic frown on his face.

''Y-yes?.'' the boy manages to crack through his sobs.

''It's ok, Oz, he won't hurt you anymore.'' Gil tries to console him. It doesn't help whatsoever. Oz bursts into another fit of shrieking. Though he knows he shouldn't, he can't control his body.

Half an hour passes and the crying dies down. He has no more tears to shed and has calmed down to a relatively silent weeping. Gil asks him if he wants to sleep with him tonight, it is only 2:30 in the middle of night after all. Oz just nods and mumbles affirmingly, unable to control the urge to say yes.

''Come'' Gil mutters in a soft voice and pulls him to his feet as he gets back on his feet, ''let's drink a cup of tea before going to bed, we're both wide awake now anyway.'' Gil smiles.

Oz knows that isn't true. He can clearly see that Gil is tired but he decides not to mention it.

Oz is a bit ashamed that he woke Gil up and bothered him again with his petty nightmares. And if he Tells Gil to take care of himself he would insist until he got his way anyway, so there's no point bothering, is his excuse, while somewhere inside he's just happy to drink tea together with Gil and doesn't want to let that feeling go. This same happiness angers him.

Oz changes out of his pajamas which are soaked in tears to another pair, washes his face in the bathroom and follows Gil, who had been waiting on him, to the kitchen at the end of the hallway for a hot cup of tea.

The next morning he wakes up peacefully, cuddling into Gil who is covering him with an arm. He silently squirms his way out of his grip, not wanting to wake him. He deserves to rest, since Oz is the reason he is tired anyway. He feels a small sense of guilt, thinking that he is just being a bother to Gil. This quickly fades away as he hears rumbling from the bed and Gil pops up from the hill of blankets, asking: ''What are you doing just standing there?'' with a smile on his face.

Oz just blinks and tilts his head to the side, not understanding what he means with that.

''Never mind…'' Gil sighs as he gets out of bed. ''Go get ready for breakfast.''

Oz obliges and walks out of the room towards his own. After he takes a shower he puts on the clothes he took from his wardrobe. He wears short black jeans and a simple grey T-shirt. Gil has bought most of his clothing for him. Oz noticed that Gil really likes dark colors, which he didn't understand at first. But he has to admit it looks kind of good on him. Another worthless thought of him.

He walks out of his room, past Gil's and the bathroom, down the hallway to the kitchen/living room. To his left he sees Gil, in front of the stove, looking down at the frying pan. He is making pancakes. And as the delicious scent of it reaches his nose a wide smile grows on his face, one he'd like to hide but doesn't seem to be able to. Gil looks up from the pancake to Oz and chuckles at the sight of his joyful expression, happy that he is feeling better.

''Pancakes!'' Oz cheers overjoyed, and jumps onto Gil, hugging his torso tightly. ''w-ho there!'' Gil tries to keep his balance.

''Calm down, will you? It's only pancakes!''

''But your pancakes are awesome!'' Oz exclaims excitedly. He's trying to calm himself down but it isn't really working.

''Get off of me, else you won't get any.''

Oz pouts and murmurs something on the lines of ''Be glad I want to hug you, ya loner.''

Gil's eye twitches but he decides to let that comment slide.

Not really though. He decides to put some salt in Oz's orange juice before taking a seat at the table.

''BUEGH! What is this!?'' Oz shrieks after taking a sip.

''Tastes normal to me.'' Gil replies with a playful smile on his face as he drinks from his own glass, after which a pancake droops down his face, leaving behind a trail of honey and an audibly laughing Oz. ''You little- !'' Gil screams as he gets out of his chair and starts tickling him right then and there, getting some half-hearted slaps and punches flinging his way in return.

And like that they start what was supposed to be a lazy Saturday, but part of Oz doesn't want to enjoy any of it.

\\-=moo=-/


	3. Chapter 3: It's mister Cucumber!

Oz wakes up to his biological clock. Not having windows to look outside or any clocks in his small, 3 by 3 meter, squared room, he doesn't know what time it is, but he can hear rain softly showering the metal plated roof and dripping into a bucket on the other side of the room through a hole in the roof. '' _It isn't too bad''_ he thinks. He tries to sit up on the floor but his body strongly refuses. Adrenaline rushes through his body but he doesn't give it any piece of mind. A human would be reeling in pain right now, he thinks, and proceeds to push his body to sit up. His heart pumps speedily and his body cries for rest, but his mind makes no sign of giving in. He touches and feels around his almost naked body, analyzing his injuries, he's only wearing black underwear. There are blue, red and purple bruises all over his body, mostly his chest which also felt extremely heavy. He starts peeling and scratching off the dried blood, having to keep his father's puppet clean or else he wouldn't enjoy it as much. After peeling as much off as he could with his long nails Oz tries to stand up. His body feels weak but he keeps pushing. He walks across the room to the bucket with rainwater and picks up a metal sponge that is nearby. He starts scrubbing the tougher layer of blood softly, avoiding his wounds. He has to be careful not to make one of his father's toys any worse. It would be bad if he couldn't even fulfill that one job.

After cleaning his body up he sits back down in his corner and stares in front of him. Oz likes the rain. He likes to believe that the sky is crying for him, for he himself can not. the rain is his only companion in the dark room. But he doesn't deserve that, so as much as he likes him he often tries to push him away, telling him to go, that he doesn't need to bother with an empty puppet. He tells the rain to go help someone else, someone with a purpose, someone with a soul. As much as he loves the rain, he has to be strict for its own good. He just refuses to accept the rain as his friend, since that is the only thing he can do in his power to keep the rain away.

Now Oz is just waiting for his daily nutrition. Zai doesn't starve him. He believes that a perfect puppet needs some soft flesh and skin, or else it would just shatter and then he can't play with it any more.

The lights in the room turn on and the door unlocks and opens. The light switch is in the hallway. One of Zai's servants enters the room with a plate with a bowl of soup, a large piece of bread, an apple, a cucumber and of course a spoon and knife. Oz's face is as lifeless as ever but the servant doesn't say a word. She had been strictly forbidden to make any contact with the kid, or 'puppet' as Zai called him, poor kid. She accidentally walks over a small pool of blood, her shoes making a mushy sound because of it now. She puts the plate on the floor in front of Oz and walks away. The door shuts and is locked again. '' _Great, now she has to clean her shoes because of me. juuuust great.''_ Oz whispers to himself

Oz knows the food isn't for him, but for his body, thus he doesn't try to savour any of its taste. He just shoves it all down. He keeps the cucumber aside, saving it for later. It would actually be a good soup if he cared. They have an amazing chef.

After a very long time of just sitting there, his father unlocks the door and comes in. ''Get up!'' he says with a raised voice. Oz assumes it is past 5 pm, since that is around the time Zai always comes back from work. Oz takes the cucumber and stands up, following Zai to his own bedroom. It had all become a routine by now. Zai opens the door, walks in and Oz follows close behind. Zai takes off his clothes as Oz walks towards the bed and pulls himself up. He puts the cucumber on his side and takes off his underwear. He lays back and waits for his father to come play with him and Mr. Cucumber with his other friend.

As Oz wakes up he can feel a soft stinging in his behind. The dream felt so surreal that even his body reacted to it. Tears flood his eyes and he starts crying. Still buried in his blanket and pillow. He pulls his legs towards his chest and grips onto them tightly. He starts calling Gil's name, hoping that he can stop this body's stupid actions. Gil tries to open the door but it is still locked. he bangs on the door and calls Oz, yelling at him to open the door. The crying suddenly dies down and Gil becomes petrified, not understanding why, but he calms down when he hears footsteps coming towards the door. Gil takes a step back and Oz opens the door. Face in tears and red bags under his eyes, but he remains expressionless from top to bottom, like the life has been sucked out of him. Gil doesn't understand, but what he _does_ understand is that Oz had another nightmare. So he gets down on one knee to get on the same level and embraces the small blonde, which manages to bring him back to his senses. After a small jump from shock he starts tearing up again, so he hugs Gil back tightly, crying into his shoulder. Gil asks him if he had another nightmare, just to make sure he didn't misunderstand. Oz just nods and hums yes. Two nightmares in two days. Gil finds that really odd. Is something wrong with Oz lately? No, it was probably because of what happened last night. Oz seemed pretty upset that he kicked Gil, and falling asleep with that in mind brings nothing positive to his spirit.

After a while they are once again in the kitchen/living room. The table where they eat is right in between, being two meters away from one of the kitchen's small island. They have white cabinets with wood countertops, including the island, giving it a very warm and cozy atmosphere. The walls in the kitchen were plain white.

Gil and Oz are now eating pancakes again, Oz having spread honey on his again, he truly detests it. Oz has a small smile plastered on his face. Which fades before he starts talking.  
''Hey Gil?''  
''Yeah?'' Gil looks up from his food.

''I'm really sorry about last night, kicking you in the face and all.. I overreacted.'' Oz turnes his head sideways, afraid to look Gil in the eyes.

''It's ok, I forgive you'' Gil says casually. He thinks he probably shouldn't make a big deal out of it. Not at scolding him, because he really didn't mind, but at lecturing him that it was fine. It would be too hard to explain, and understand, properly anyway. It's just something he has to get used to himself. And he definitely doesn't want to send Oz to school tomorrow thinking it is ok to kick people if they tease him. He has to be really cautious when it comes to teaching stuff like that to Oz.

Oz is taken aback by his reaction. He's forgiven? just like that? He was prepared to listen to an entire lecture but he gets an answer as simple as that. Deep down inside he wouldn't be surprised if he got a beating for it. He wouldn't truly care anyway. It's not like he has a soul or anything.

After a while of chatting about school Gil looks at a clock on the wall and notices it has just passed 6 AM. He has to get ready for work. He wants to bring Oz along today. Oscar had been begging him to bring Oz again soon anyway. He really likes the kid. So the two get ready and go to Pandora's Pizza together. halfway it starts to rain intensely. '' _Poor delivery guy''_ Oz thinks, '' _All because of me.''_


	4. Chapter 4: First day of school!

The next morning goes smoothly. Oz wakes up 15 minutes sooner than Gil told him to, being too anxious and wanting to be sure he gets to class in time. It is now 6 o'clock. He has to be in class at 8:15 so he's aiming to be at school at 7:55, leaving him plenty time to get ready.

So after forcing Gil to get out of bed he takes a quick shower and puts on his uniform.

His uniform consists of trousers with different tints of green and purple in vertical and horizontal lines, a black leather belt, a white button-down shirt and a plain green blazer which is a shade darker than the green on the trousers. To finish it all off there is a purple tie, which leaves Oz baffled as to how you are supposed to put the damn thing on. He has seen it on Gil a few times before and never thought much of it, but now that he has to put one on himself he has to give him a props up for managing to safely put the contraption around his neck. Seriously, why does he need to tie this around his neck anyway? what if it gets stuck somewhere causing him to fall and break his neck? Which idiot thought it was a smart idea to make such a thing?

'' _oooooh..''_ Oz says enlightened, '' _It's for THAT…''_ thinking about suffocation in a non-killing way. He can't be any more far off.

He is pulled off that horrible train of thoughts when Gil entering his room, grinning from ear to ear at the sight of Oz trying to tie his necktie. It is in a weird knot with bows sticking out of it and Gil wonders how he even managed to get it that way. ''Can't get it on?'' Gil asks, snickering.

''No.'' Oz replies composed, because he is actually pissed that Gil is laughing at him because he can't do the tie. He just really needs all the help he can get.

''Here, let me do it.'' Gil approaches the boy and starts unraveling the tie.

'' _Like really, how did he even get it like this?'_ ' a snort escapes him at that thought. Oz's brows furrow at that but Gil ignores it and continues with the tie. Oz can't look down because he would get in the way, but by the feeling of the tie moving around everywhere and the cloth rubbing against his chin frequently he can conclude that it is damn complicated.

''Ill teach it to you after school today.'' Gil smiles at him after he finished.

''Thank you.'' Oz smiles back as he looks in the mirror, checking how the tie suits him.

''You look really good in that.'' Gil notes.

''You think so? The colors are a weird match if you ask me..''

''Exactly, weird fits you perfectly.'' Gil teases.

''What's THAT supposed to mean?!''

They are now walking down the street, Gil showing him the way to his new school, but in actuality he was mostly worried that there might be some bad figures on the way. Gil is clothed casually, dark blue jeans, a black pullover covered by a brown coat and a dark blue scarf.

As dark as always. Oz has a brown backpack on his back which Gil believes makes him even more adorable.

It is now late September and the leaves have started to fall, most students should have found their own group of friends during the last month so Gil worries how Oz will do with making new friends. He knows that being the new kid is always hard. But Oz looks very happy and optimistic so he feels a bit more relaxed. Who would hate such a happy ball of positivity?

They made it to school safely and stopped at the gate. No suspicious people found on the way.

''Have you remembered the way to school?'' Gil asks dotingly.

''Yeeees.'' Oz sighs, ''It's a 15 minute walk, Gil, and most of it is just following a straight path, I'm not stupid.''

''You sure you remember?'' Gil asked, acting serious. Oz grumbles in response.

''I'm kidding, I'm kidding!'' Gil defends, ''Anyway, are you one 100% ready to start school?''

''Yes'' Oz replies simply.

''Have you checked the floor map I gave you?''

''Yee~ees.'' Gil answers, starting to get annoyed.''Stop worrying so much! I'll be fine!''

''Alright,'' a soft smile grows on Gil's face, ''I'll get going now then, good luck!'' and he suddenly pulls the little boy into a tight bear hug.

'' _Look at those two! it's so cute! do you think they're brothers?''  
_ Oz could hear a high school girl whispering. High school is right around the corner of the elementary school. They share the same name after all: Lutwidge elementary and Lutwidge High. The two schools also share an oversized sport field, where they collectively host a festival every year and raise money for charity.

'' _I don't know! Probably. I wish I was that close with my little brother!''_

''Cut it out! You're embarrassing me!'' Oz blushes as he tries to push him away.

'' _He's so adorable!''_

Oz could hear the girls giggling. After Oz frees himself from Gil he turns around to look at the two girls and angrily says: ''I can hear ya, ya know!?'' cheeks bright red.

''sorry.'' the girls say half-heartedly, still giggling like crazy.

Oz just turns and walks away towards towards the school entrance which shot the girls into another fit of giggling.

''Have fun!'' Gil exclaims and waves after him. Oz ignores it.

'' _Now… what to do…''_

He has to be in class at 8:15, he has 15 minutes left.

'' _Oh yeah! My locker!''_ All students are assigned their own personal lockers so they can store unneeded books and other stuff. Oz's number is 482, as it says on the piece of plastic attached to the key he got. All the lockers are at the entrance of the school building. he looks for his locker and puts the first batch of books he brought with him inside. He plans on bringing all his books to school so he won't have to carry much on his way to school every morning. He will just take the books he needs for homework back home at the end of the day. Today he has seven periods, each of 45 minutes. He has two 25 minute breaks after the third and the sixth period. He keeps the books he needs for the first three periods in his bag and decides to go find his classroom, room 201, which he knows means second floor, room one. He's really thankful Gil gave him that floor plan. His first period is homeroom. Then he has maths in room 313 and French in room 219.

Arriving at his classroom, he enters to see many students talking, making some homework, or just lying around on their desk lazily. Other students were coming in after him, it is almost 8:15 now. The teacher is there as well, sitting at her desk and typing stuff on her laptop. Oz approaches her, ignoring the eyes suddenly looking at him. ''Miss Kate? I'm Oz, the new student.''

''Ah! Oz! Welcome! How's Gil doing? I hope you've done the homework I've sent you…''

''Gil's fine, and yes I have, but that's all thanks to you, thank you for being so kind and allowing me to keep up-to-date with my homework. If it wasn't for that I'd have to do first year instead.''

''Think nothing of it.'' she smiles back and gets out of her chair, ''Wait here.''

The school bell dings and all other students take their seat. ''Good morning everybody!'' Kate exclaims as she gets up. ''We're getting a new student today,'' Oz could feel all the eyes watching him, suddenly feeling a bit heavy. It even seems like some of them are staring directly into him, trying to look at his soul. They can search for as long as they want. He doesn't feel too anxious, anyone would be nervous standing in front a bunch of strangers.

''Please introduce yourself.''

''Uhm, I'm Oz Nightray and I will be joining your class from now on. I hope to get to know you all better, and… uhm..''

''Alright Oz, please take any empty seat.'' Kate interrupts, rightly assuming Oz doesn't know what else to say.

Everybody eyes him as he walks to an empty seat on the far right back, next to a window.

'' _Am I some kind of ghost or something?! Stop staring at me!''_

His wish is granted as Kate starts talking about upcoming events and other important things they need to know.

'' _So far so good.''_ Oz thinks.


	5. Chapter 5: Good day, colleague!

''... and during biology we talked about how different things on earth are classified and the different levels of that, like how you have animals, plants, insects, fungi and bacteria.'' Oz lists with his fingers at the table during dinner, ''And then under animals for example you have other groups.''  
''Aah.. I remember that.'' Gil says casually,''So it looks like you had a lot of fun at school today..'' Gil notes at Oz's wide grin and enthusiasm. Oz nods and hums yes.  
Gil is really glad everything went smoothly at school today. ''How are your classmates?''  
''Most of them are really nice.'' He smiles, ''they seemed really interested in me, they couldn't stop asking questions.'' he laughs half-heartedly, ''some of them kept glaring at me, but that's ok.''  
Gil frowns a little at that, but decides not to push that topic. Good thing he didn't, Oz believes. Since that isn't the only thing that happened, and Gil would be able to read him very easily. And if he finds out he'd start worrying too much. Seriously, Gil always worries way too much, it was just a small beating, and he didn't really mind.  
''Have you made any friends?'' Gil asks.

''Yeah!'' Oz brightens, ''This one girl invited me to hang out together with her friends this weekend. Her name is Echo.''

''Echo? That's a really nice name.''

''I know! I told her that too!''  
This piques Gil's interest. ''You just told her that?'' Gil smiles

''Well… yeah. Why?'' Oz asks. '' _Stupid, right?''_

''She probably felt a bit embarrassed because of it.'' Gil states.

''What do you mean? Why would she?'' Oz asks, absolutely clueless.

''It's similar to when I call you cute.'' Gil explains.

Oz sits silent for a few second while it sinks into him. ''OH!'' he exclaims suddenly, ''I get it now! I hadn't thought of that.'' Oz continues eating his food.

'' _Slowly but surely.,''_ Gil thinks, '' _he will learn how to interact with people his age.''_

He's definitely not being shy when it comes to stuff like that, which surprises Gil. Since Oz is shy in nature, why is it only when talking to a girl that he isn't? Is he gonna grow into some sort of womanizer? Probably not, it must be something along the lines of '' _I'm just saying it the way it is!''_ Very honest but clueless, so Gil doesn't think much of it.

''And don't call me cute.''

After dinner Oz goes to take a shower. He leaves the water running as he checks himself in the mirror, there are a few faint blue marks on his chest and abdomen. Those two guys, Elliot and Leo, are lucky that this just heals by itself. If they'd left any scars Zai would probably kill them. He wonders when Zai will come get him. It's already been months and it has become harder to deal with both his body and Gil. He truly appreciates Gil helping him through his series of nightmares, but he shouldn't worry so much about him. It's not like they will stay together for long anyway. Gil's just taking care of him until Zai comes back to pick him up. But what's taking him so long? The fact that he started having dreams is really bothering Oz, it's making just job much harder.

After slipping into his black and white checkered and striped pyjamas he goes to the living room to find Gil already sitting on the couch in his own black shirt and gray shorts, watching TV. He takes a seat next to Gil as it starts raining outside again.  
''It's raining a lot recently, isn't it?'' Gil remarks.

''It's fall after all.'' Oz states.

Gil just humphs in return, acknowledging he heard his answer.

But only on days he doesn't dream, Oz notices. Only on days he doesn't cry, does it rain. He wonders when exactly it got to be that way. Has it always been like this? Oz isn't sure. Has it ever rained when he cried? No, it hasn't, Oz remembers. Back in his old room it had never rained when his eyes teared up.

Oz wakes up like he does on any other summer day. His eyes wet and body fatigued, heart beating normally and uncomfortable pulses being sent through all of his body. He gets up and starts his daily routine, but something catches his eye and he stops in his tracks, looking at it thoughtfully. How long has it been laying there on the floor? Has it always been there? Oz doesn't remember. A black rabbit on the floor, its head ripped off. How did it get here? Oz notices it only for the first time, he never cared about what was in the room anyway. He usually just stared at the walls or ceiling, either listening blankly to the rain or counting the pulses rushing through his body. Does it have any meaning? Is it important? Oz thinks as hard as he can to remember the puppet, but nothing comes to mind. Eventually Oz gives up, assuming it is not important because he probably would remember if it is. He continues to the bucket of water in the opposite side of the small room and picks up the metal sponge. He dips it in the small pool of water at the bottom and starts scrubbing himself. Luckily there aren't many large wounds this time around, he's running low on water. After he cleans himself he goes back to his corner and sits down, waiting for the supplies for his body. The maid opens the door and walks in with a plate with a bowl of soup, a piece of bread, a glass of water, an apple, and no cucumber, Oz notices. The maid seems to have noticed as well as he can see her eyes smiling. Oz never understood why that made her happy. Oz waits for her to leave the room before he starts shoveling everything down, occasionally soaking the bread in his mouth with the water to make it go down faster After that is done he shoves the plate away with his feet when he notices something laying on the floor. Has there always been a black rabbit on the floor? does it have any meaning? Is it important? Oz thinks as hard as he can to remember the puppet, but nothing comes to mind, so he just ignores it and looks at the ceiling instead, counting the lines going through the metal plate, making dents in the ceiling.


	6. Chapter 6: Home alone!

**Heyheyheeeey there hoomans! I have returned to you with another chapter.**

 **Finally.**

 **The thing is that during my vacation I always wrote this stuff after midnight, but now that school started again I can't do that anymore, and I feel less motivated to write at other times and now I will get tons of homework and bladibladibla expect slow updates.**

 **Enjoy!**

 _ **I don't own any of these characters.**_

 **\\-=_=moo=_=-/**

The next morning goes less smoothly than the day before. It is raining and Gil is about to be late for work, because Oz won't leave the toilet and Gil is afraid something might go wrong if he leaves Oz alone. Oz said his stomach hurt when he woke up and Gil said he should just try to walk it off, but it seems that isn't going to work.

''Oz, are you ok in there? If it's bad I can call in for you.''

''I'd appreciate that.'' Oz replies. He isn't going to leave the toilet any time soon.

''Do you want me to stay here with you?'' Gil asks.

''You don't need to, it's nothing serious, go to work.''

''Alright..'' Gil sighs, a bit disappointed in that response, ''But call me if anything happens, ok? And there's some food in the fridge if you get hungry. And don't open the door for any strangers. And make sure your turn off the stove after you use it. And-''

''Alright, alright!'' Oz interrupts annoyed, ''I get it already! Just go! You're gonna be late!''

Gil sighs again and after calling the school to tell them Oz probably won't be able to come he cycles his way to work, leaving Oz home alone….

all to himself….

with nobody else around...

shit

''Goddamned ffflubbernuggets! What am I supposed to do?! I don't freaking know how to work a STOVE! Gil you dumbass! AND WE DON'T EVEN HAVE A LANDLINE TO CALL YOU WITH!'' Oz grits his teeth in frustration, but mostly because Gil had told him strictly not to do so because it is bad for his teeth, and disobeying him makes him feel at least the slightest bit better.

''What if someone breaks in! .WHAT IF THEY KIDNAP ME AND TAKE ONE OF MY KIDNEYS! That's sure to leave a scar!'' Most of his annoyance fades away, to make room for horror. He clenches his fists against his face, covering his mouth with both hands so he can screech without making too much noise. But after a short while he loses the energy in his arms and lets them sloop down. His eyes start tearing up.

NO!

''I can't cry right now! I have to make sure nobody can get this body!'' Oz rushes out of the bathroom, his I-don't-wanna-go-to-school-stomach-ache cured. He goes from room to room to make sure all the windows are shut tight and the curtains are closed. Then he locks every lockable door and puts a chair against the handle of the front door to make it extra secure. He starts rummaging through the drawers, looking for any other tool he might be able to use. He looks back to where he saw some garlic and takes the bag. After ripping it open he puts them randomly across the room over tabletops, shelves, the kitchen counter, on the couch and one in each pocket of his pants.

''There! All safe!'' Oz sighs in satisfaction. He then slouches his way to the couch, all his anxiety drained. His body asks him for some rest with a yawn. Gil has learned him that rest is important for the body aswell, while he himself always assumed that keeping it clean was top priority. And right now it isn't like he's filthy anyway. So he lays down on the couch and falls into a slumber with the faint smell of garlic in the air.

Oz wakes up to someone banging on the door. He shoots up from the couch and starts panicking.

Who the hell is that!?

Oh my god! THEY'RE HERE FOR MY KIDNEY! WHAT DO I DO?!

"Oz, are you in there? Please open the door already!" Oz could hear Gil saying loudly through the door.

Oz breathes out the air he held in, relieved that it is just Gil.

BUT WHAT IF IT IS SOMEONE WHO TOOK GIL'S VOICE!?

He saw that on discovery channel once. He has to test him to make sure he's Gil. He stands up and walks towards the door, expression fierce and serious.

"If you're really Gil, you will answer this question correctly."

On the other side of the door Gil is shocked to hear that.

"He doesn't believe me? Whaaat?"

"How many girlfriends have you had in your life."

Gil's eye twitches. What kind of question is THAT!?

"four" Gil says casually.

"WRONG!" Oz yells, "WHO ARE YOU!?"

"FINE! NONE! I HAVE NEVER HAD ONE! Dangit…"

He hears some rummaging and the door unlocking. The door opens just enough for Oz to look through and see that the person in front of the door is indeed Gil. Gil could see his eyes furrow angrily through the small crack in the door. Oz widens the door so he can fit through and immediately launches himself onto Gil. He holds his torso tightly. Gil gets startled and takes a step back to keep his balance, raising his arms on instinct. ''What's wrong Oz?" He asks curiously but more than anything he is confused.

"YOU IDIOT!" Oz suddenly exclaims, confusing Gil even more.

"DON'T JUST LEAVE ME HOME ALONE! WE DON'T EVEN HAVE A LANDLINE! HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO CALL YOU IF SOMETHING BAD HAPPENS!"

Gil now understandswhat was wrong;9 he had been scared shitless by being alone. Gil hugs him back.

"You're so stupid Gil! And I don't even know how to use a stove!" He looks him in the eyes.

"But you told me you would be fine." Gil retorts with a calm tone.

"Of course I did, you wouldn't leave otherwise!"

"Why'd you want me to leave?"

Oz goes silent. He turns his head away, ashamed. "Nothing.." Oz pouts, clearly not wanting him to ask further.

But Gil isn't planning to leave it at that. "Oz." Now in a serious tone. "Why did you want me to leave? What's wrong?"

Oz doesn't reply, he looks away.

"Oz, look at me." He gently holds his cheek and turns it towards him. The boy doesn't resist and he's glad he doesn't have to use force.

"Tell me, what's wrong?"

"it's nothing." Oz replies with a frown on his face, all anger out of his voice.

Gil easily notices that he is lying.

It's hard to lie to someone who seems to be looking right into you.

"Oz." Gil says demeaningly. "How's your stomach?" Oz jumps a little, not expecting that question. "f-fine" He still tries, but Gil knows he hit the nail on the head. "Your stomach never hurt, did it?.."

"No…" Oz answers with a small voice, feeling trapped.

''Then why did you tell me it did?''

''Because I didn't want to go to school today.''

''And why's that?''

Oz doesn't know how to answer that. He looks conflicted and curious to know the answer himself. After a short while of thinking he comes to the conclusion that he had no idea.

''Did something happen at school yesterday?'' Gil asks sympathetically while pushing him back inside.

''Like what?'' Oz asks.

''Something bad.''

''Like… what?'' Oz asks again.

''Like.. Did someone pick on you? or did something embarrassing happen? things like that.''

Oz seems to be deep in thought again. ''No?'' Is Oz's final answer.

Gil thinks that he isn't lying,

''Then why else wouldn't you want to go to school, you were really excited to learn yesterday so I don't think it would be boring, would it?''

''No, I just had a very bad feeling this morning, but I don't know why.''

Gil is trying really hard to figure out what it could be. ''Do you still feel that way?''

Oz nods in response.

''Well, that's a shame.'' Gil puts a hand on his shoulder, ''because you will definitely go to school tomorrow.''

Oz looks down a few inches and frowns ''Ok.''

Gil takes a look around the room and bends his head an inch when he sees all the garlic in the room. ''W-why exactly is there garlic everywhere?''

''I saw on discovery channel that it keeps kidney-nappers away.''

''W…...whaaaa?...''

No more discovery channel for you.

 **\\-=_=moo=_=-/**


	7. Chapter 7: Over at Echo's!

**hi there again hoomans! No, I have not abandoned this story. I just stopped enjoying writing it a lot and I've been writing some other stuff. check me out on Whatpad, but most ofwhat I've written thisnpast month hasn't been uploaded yet.I'm gonna do a few more chapters of this, I just lost motivation. And without motivation all my inspiration for the story also went down the drain.**

 **The ending will be the same as I planned though, but the build-up might be shorter :panyway, enjoy!**

 ** _I don't own any of these characters_**

.

 **\\-=_=moo=_=-/**

It's now Saturday. Oz managed to hide the fact he's being bullied, but the bruises have started to show, he even had to lie to him about biting his lip by accident during physical education.

The weather was nice today, the sun was shining, so it was quite a challenge to convince Gil there was nothing wrong with wearing long sleeves. Gil saw that his eyes were a bit red this morning so he thought something might be wrong, but Oz managed to brush that off with a believable argument, namely that he watched TV for too long. He doesn't like that fact that Gil probably won't let him watch TV as much anymore, and he already blocked discovery channel as well, but if it means Gil won't find out about his secret he thinks it's worth it. But he still wants gil to unblock Discovery Channel. He still doesn't understand why Gil did that, and he thinks it's really unfair, because Gil didn't block his favorite channel, national Geographic with all it's stupid bullshit.

Really, really unfair.

But now is not the time for that, he has something much more important on his mind. Today is the day Oz is gonna hang out with Echo and her friends, so he's excited. He had spent a while deciding what to wear. He wanted to look nice, but didn't want them thinking he cared so much. In the end he left his room wearing a pair of black jeans and a crimson shirt with a wide neck. He hesitated about the shirt but he remembered Gil told him it looked good on him and Oz decided to take his word for it.

''So, do you know which way you're supposed to go?'' Gil asks after breakfast.

''Yesterday you promised you'd bring me!'' Oz yells at him.

Gil jumps up. ''I did? I don't remember that..''

''You were rejected and got drunk and kept whining about how you were so lonely and you kept hugging me like I was your teddy bear.''

''And when did I tell you I'd drop you off?'' Gil asks as he puts on his brown coat.

''Right after I asked you, after you kept babbling about me being the only that understands you.'' Oz looks serious, ''Which I don't, by the way, I don't really understand anything about you.''

''Ya know, you can be really mean sometimes.'' Gil mumbles.

''I'm not the one who forgot his promise, you drunk loner.''

Gil's expression suddenly went serious. ''Stop calling me that!'' he snapped, it was all an act though, he just wants to mess around with him a bit, as revenge.

Oz jumps up in surprise at Gil's sudden sharp tone. He looks Gil in his fakely serious eyes. Gil starts to smile to show him it was a joke, but Oz has already averted his eyes, his head is now hanging down. He begins to sob.

''I'm sorry.'' he says in between sniffs. Gil is really caught off guard, this is not what he had planned to happen.

''O-Oz! I was joking! I'm not angry at you!''

But Oz keeps on crying. ''You're lying!''

''I'm not! I was just messing with you!'' Gil get down on one knee.

"C'mon Oz, I was just joking, I wanted to take revenge for you calling me a loner all the time."

Oz suddenly hugs Gil's neck.

He stops crying and starts giggling instead. Gil doesn't really understand what is going on.

Oz pushes away and is still smiling, he wiped away his tears.

"Why are you suddenly so happy?" Gil asks

"Nothing! It's nothing.."

Gil stares at him for a while. Oz looks like he's going to burst, but he tries to control himself. The longer Gil stares at him, the harder it becomes.

"Alright then…" Gil sighs and gets up.

"What street was it?"

"Sablier lane." Oz answers, still chuckling.

"Oh, that's nearby."

"It is?"

"Yeah, we can just walk there."

Oz takes his black coat from the rack and puts on his black shoes.

"Ya know, Oz, you're wearing even more black than me now." gil jokes.

"I just like black, is there a problem with that?"

"No, I like it, makes you look cuter."

Oz glares at him.

"You just wait.." he says in a serious tone, "when I come back later I'll curse you."

"And how do you plan on doing that?"

"I saw on TV that in the past they'd burn something someone holds dear and put the ashes in a cake to feed them."

Gil is a bit creeped out by that, "A-and what channel did you see that on?"

"National Geographic." Oz lies. He hopes this would make Gil block that channel too.

"No way…" Gil is depressed.

"Ah-ha" Oz nods.

Gil sighs again. Oz hopes it worked.

"But then what would you burn?"

"The teddy bear you're hiding in your closet."

Gil is shocked, "H-how do you n-know that!?"

"You told me about it yesterday."

"What else did I tell you when I was drunk!"

"That's a secret." Oz smiles brightly.

Gil's face drops and Oz enjoys every moment of if.

"But you're wrong though, the most precious thing I have is you."

Oz's lips parts and he stands still for a while.

"Ptf-Anyway! W-we should get going!" Oz tries to open the front door but it is still locked.

Gil loves how embarrassed he became, and how he keeps struggling to open the door. Gil pulls him back by his shoulder and takes a keychain that is hanging on a hook.

Oz still looks flustered while he opens the door. When they get outside Oz is walking behind Gil the entire way to Echo's. Not wanting to show Gil his expression.

"You know my number right? If anything happens just ask if you can use their phone and call me.

"Ok." Oz replies.

"Listen to what her parents tell you, and behave yourself. And introduce yourself to them properly as well!"

"Alright alright! I get it!"

They walk up to the gate of their small mansion and click on a button that must be the doorbell.

"Hello?" a static voice greets them through a speaker.

"It's Oz!" Oz exclaims before Gil can respond politely, "Echo invited me."

"What did I just say?"

The gate opens and they walked towards the door of their home. They see someone opening the door, a young-looking blond man.

He waves at them, they wave back.

"It's nice to meet you, Oz. Echo talked a lot about you." he smiles at them once they reach the door.

"Hi!" Oz smiles back, "Could you be.. Vincent?"

"The one and only!"

"But there's another boy named Vincent in my class."

Oz takes it too seriously. Vincent still smiles, though it looks a bit forced now. "And who could this be?" he asks as he turns his gaze toward Gil.

"My name is Gilbert, Gilbert Nightray, I'm Oz's caretaker. It's nice to meet you." he puts out his hand to shake. Vincent accepts it.

"I'm assuming you came just to drop Oz off but would you like to stay for a cup of tea?"

"Well of course."

Oz keeps looking from Gil to Vincent, impressed by how civil they are.

"Please come in then." Vincent moves aside to allow them in.

Oz sees all the shoes against the wall.

"Should we take off our shoes?"

"That would be much appreciated." Vincent replies.

After they put their shoes away in a covert Vincent leads them into a very big living room.

"Please take a seat, Gilbert. I'll bring Oz to the others."

They walk past a long hallway. It is only long relative to their own however, thus spectacular to Oz. They were both silent on the way. Oz can hear other kids shouting and laughing. Vincent suddenly stops in front of a door and pauses for a moment. It looks like he's composing himself. He turns the doorknob and suddenly slamms it open. "KEEP IT DOWN YOU BRATS!" He snaps. Oz takes a step back, not having expected that nice guy to suddenly shout like that.

"You have another guest." Oz is pulled to his side and can now look inside the room. He sees 5 kids sitting on their knees lined next to each other with serious expressions on their faces. Vincent pushes Oz inside and closes the door behind him after he tells everyone to behave. After a short pause the four kids that aren't Echo launch themselves towards the poor Oz who has to take their barrage of questions.

Oz isn't sure if he is excited anymore.


	8. Chapter 8: Happy face!

**Hi there hoomans!Fear no more!For I have come!To save you! with another (super late) chapter!The reason this is so late is 1. because I'm a lazy bum; 2. Because I've been writing a ton of other stuff, check out ma is gonna start happening now and the end is !** ** _I don't own any of these characters_**

 **\\-=_=moo=_=-/**

Over at Echo's Oz had a lot of fun.

They had played Little Big Planet 2.

It was about puppets made out of sacks that fight against against an evil giant vacuüm. It was a really funny game with lots of cool features. You could make your sackperson look happy, sad, angry, or scared with the arrow buttons which really caught Oz's interest.

The only frustrating part was that you could slap each other in game and this would knock you out periodically. Two of Echo's friends found it funny to stand on each side of Oz's sackboy and kept slapping him back and forth, Oz being unable to fight back. He would wear the sad expression on his face for the rest of the time they played the game.

There was also a 'grab' option. Echo would use it to 'hug' Oz and then he'd put a smile on his face. Oz was fascinated by all the interactions he could make in this game.

"Can you please just let me cross this crater!?"

There was a sponge hanging from a rope above the crater. They were supposed to jump to it, grab it, and swing to the other side. But one person kept leaning away from Oz with the sponge he couldn't reach it.

"No" he snickered.

Oz tried jumping at the sponge but fell into the lava.

"How about we play something else now?" somebody else suggested.

Gil had left half an hour after they came, feeling content about having made a good first impression. But before he left Vincent pulled something from behind him. It was a large piece of paper taped onto his back which had 'loner' written onto it sloppily with a thick black marker.

"Damned brat.. So that's why he was laughing!"

Vincent snickered. "It seems like he has a dark side to him as well. Surprising for such a bright boy."

"Tell me about it… anyway, I should get going."

"Wait, how late will you come pick up Oz?"

"eeeem… a quarter past six."

"Alright, see you then."

"Bye."

Back home Oz is exhausted from all the fun he had at Echo's. He slumps down on the couch and sighs.

"They must've kept you going all day, huh?"

"Not exactly.. I got tired of just being around them, but now that I'm back home I don't feel like sleeping anymore."

Gil scolds himself for not having thought of that. This kid is a socially awkward introvert, he must've been drained in an instant.

"Do you want to do anything later?"

"Noo.." he mumbles.

"What did you all do?"

"Stuff.." he sounds disinterested.

"Have you eaten anything?"

"I don't know…"

"You don't know?"

"No.."

"Then, are you hungry?"

"I guess.."

"What would you like to eat?"

Oz already has something in mind.

"No pancakes."

Oz mumbles something incomprehensible.

"Rice, with chicken." he decide: in the end. "But why can't I have pancakes?" he pouts.

"You shouldn't eat too many pancakes, that's not healthy."

"not healthy?" Oz wonder: what exactly that is supposed to be mean.

He had always been fed nicely by his father, the fact that Gil made him pancakes in the first place made him believe he was allowed to eat it.

He thinks back to his time in his small room. He notices that unlike in the past he now kind of enjoys eating, especially pancakes, which isn't something he's happy with.

He wonders how it came to be that way. He knows he shouldn't, but he can''t control it. Eating Gil's pancakes makes him feel giddy and warm. But because of that it also makes him uncomfortable and sad. He shouldn't be happy, he shouldn't have such emotions because he is a mere puppet of his father. Yet he does feel happy and doesn't want to let that feeling go. This scared him. If he's happy he isn't doing his job as a puppet right, which means his reason to live in null, and that would make him anything but happy.

So the only options he had were to be sad or not feel anything at all. It was clear which one the better choice was.

Oz gets up off of the couch and goes to his room. He opens his backpack that is sitting next to a leg of his bed and takes out his pencil case. He pulls down the zipper and takes out a pair of black scissors. He takes his pyjamas, a change of underwear and a towel out of the coverts and heads towards the bathroom.

He locks the door and takes off his clothes. He looks at himself in the mirror, he sure gained some weight since living with Gil; he isn't as skinny and frail as he was before. Oz feels disgusted, not being the way his father wanted him to be.

He opens a cabinet, takes out a packet of band aids and puts them on top of the washing machine along with all his clothing.

He gets under the shower and turns up the cold water. He stands still for a short while, but soon he is crying, as drops of blood mixed with the water stream down the drain.

He doesn't know why he is crying. This is the way things should've always been. Only this time it isn't for his father's entertainment. But Zai isn't there so there is nobody to remind him of what his job is, what his purpose was. So he has to make sure he understands it by himself. He is supposed to feel pain, he has started to forget that during his time spent with Gil. But now he is resolved to do his job right. No more will he be happy. If his father were to pick him up right now, he would be disappointed. Oz can''t let that happen. He wants to make sure that once his father finally comes to get him, he will be able to play with his puppet all he likes without any worry in mind.

''Disgusting.''

"Oooooz! Dinner's ready!"

He rasps his throat. "I'll be there soon!" he is still in the shower.

He still has to tend to the small wounds on his sides and his upper leg; he made some cuts there thinking it were the places Gil would least notice anything. They aren't severe cuts, that could scar him. He just sliced short bits. It didn't hurt as bad as the things his father would do, but it had to do.

After sticking on a bunch of bandaids and putting on his clothes after he dried himself, he walks out the bathroom, past the hallway to the living room. Gil has already set the tables. Oz smiles brightly at the food on the table, and when Gil looks over at him and sees his expression he starts smiling too. Oz knows he has to keep this act up for a while, or else Gil will notice something was wrong. So he keeps smiling. He keeps laughing with him. He keeps playing games with him and getting excited if he is about to win. But this smile was only on the surface. Slowly but surely he will turn back into the lifeless doll he was before, like it's always been, like it should still be.. How he will maintain smiling like that, he doesn't know. He assumes that keeping the corners of his lips up is enough

It is tiresome to smile so much. Heck, even Gil was surprised at how bright he became on the outside after his day with Echo.

But he just has to keep it up 'till his father comes to get him, but he has no clue as to when that might be.

 **\\-=_=moo=_=-/**


	9. Chapter 9: Chocolate honey syrup!

**Hey there hoomans! I have returned with another chapter. This time a bit more quickly!**

 **I'm not sure if this chapter is any good or not, especially the last part I'm not so sure of, but I did my best and I hope you enjoy!**

 _ **I don't own any of these characters.**_

 **\\-=_=moo=_=-/**

A few weeks later at school, Oz had a lot of fun.

Or so Gil believed.

He came back home with an excited smile on his face. He had gotten into a little accident during PE again, but it seemed like something great happened at school.

Gil decides to ask Oz what that might've been.

"Hmmm? Nothing special. Echo asked me to come over to play again."

"That's great, when are you going?"

"I'm not." Oz said casually, still with a smile on his face. He takes off his shoes.

Gil hadn't expected that, he frowns. "Why not?"

"I'm just not in the mood for it, it's really tiresome."

"I _could_ pick you up after a few hours, you don't _have_ to stay there for too long."

"No thanks." Oz walks past Gil towards the hallway.

"What's the is-"

"No." He goes towards his room.

"What's his problem?..."

Gil put his arms over his chest.

" _Could it be…_ _ **that**_ _time now…"_

Gil thought maybe pancakes would cheer him up.

In his room Oz flopped down on his bed with a frown on his face. He turned onto one side.

" _My face is about to crack in two, maybe I'm overdoing it…_

 _It's been months since I got here, how much longer will he take to come get me already? Where is he anyway?_

 _One day I was playing with dad, and the next morning I was in a hospital bed. I had no clue what was going on, but whatever it was, I wasn't going to get to see my father._

 _It's so odd.. Where could he have ran off to? He should've at least came to find me by now.._

 _Did he find another puppet!?"_

He started biting his nails.

" _No, he couldn't have… that'd be too much effort._

 _BUT THEN WHY IS HE TAKING SO LONG!_ _I'm turning_ _ **insane**_ _out here!_

 _Gil and Echo acting all nice to me!_

 _If it wasn't for Elliot and Leo I'd be_ _ **happy.**_

 _ **HAPPY!**_

 _I have to get them to stop being so nice to me…"_

He sighed.

" _but how?..._

 _Ah! I know! No wait.. If I just call her a bitch and kick her, Gil will find out…_

 _Then I should just ruin her life.. Yes.. In a way that nobody will figure out it's me, nobody but her of course."_

"Oz," Gil knocks on the door, "Can I come in?"

"Sure.."

Gil walks in with a serving plate with pancakes, chocolate paste, a smearing knife, caramel syrup, powdered sugar and fruit sprinkles.

" _Gil… I hate you.. So, so much."_

Oz put a bright smile on his face and gaped a little.

Gil smiled back at him.

"Pancakeeees! Thankyou!"

He put the plate on Oz's bed.

"Say Oz, are you alright?"

"Hmm? Yeah."

"You look a bit depressed the last few days, if something's bothering you, you can always tell me."

 _Last few days?_

Ok, so he only noticed something because it became harder to keep the act up, nothing else.

Oz has to think up of something, and has to do it quick.

He looked down.

"Echo rejected me.."

That was the last thing Gil expected. And he actually doesn't know what to say. It's not like _he_ has any right to give relationship advice.

"Uh-Uhmm, so you confessed to her?"

"Well duh! How else could I be rejected!" he starts tearing up.

"oh. Oz.. It will be OK! She's not the only girl in this world."

"But I liked _her_!"

He starts crying. Gil pulled him into an embrace.

"I know, I know… It's a shame but there's nothing to be done about it. You just have to keep strong."

"B-but, I'll be a loner like you!"

Gil is a tad bit annoyed by that remark but decides to let it pass.

"Calm down.."

Oz decides to keep crying for a few more minutes, that'll be more than enough.

Once he stopped crying Gil patted him on the head, "c'mon, eat your pancakes."

Oz hums and nods yes and wipes the tears from his eyes. He lets go off Gil and goes to sit on his bed to eat his pancakes. He opens the jar of chocolate paste and starts smearing it on a pancake.

He also puts caramel syrup on it.

Gil raised an eyebrow. "Chocolate _and_ syrup?"

"Yes, I like it like that.."

He starts munching down the pancake, he didn't like the taste of it, but that was the point in mixing the two. While eating his pancakes Gil leaves the room.

Oz stops eating and takes the plate with him to the bathroom.

He opens a tube of toothpaste and spreads some over his pancake.

Not too much of course because that would be unhealthy, but still enough to make it taste disgusting.

He ate it all with lots of effort. It's been awhile since he ate something truly disgusting; he just got used to tasty food, but he knows this is something he has to do.

Gil shoving delicious pancakes in his face doesn't help at all. But it _is_ good disciplinary training, something he also came to lack since living with Gil.

He hopes Gil doesn't notice the disappearance of toothpaste.

He looks at himself in the mirror.

" _disgusting"_ he frowns, " _absolutely disgusting"_

"You look fiiine, Oz! It really suits you!"

"You think so?"

"Yes! Together with these shoes, I'm sure nobody will be able to keep their eyes off of you!"

"Hmmm…"

" _Disgusting!"_ He starts tearing up, but he doesn't know why.

"Gil, do you think I'm fat?"

"W-whut? Hahah, you're everything BUT fat! You should really gain some weight, you don't look healthy."

" _ **Disgusting!**_ "

Oz leans against the sink on his arms. "What was wrong with me!?"

More tears ran down his face, he had no clue why.

"Disgusting! Disgusting! Disgusting!" he keeps repeating the same thing over and over again.

" _Absolutely disgusting!_

Why is he so sad? Why is he crying? Could it be that he wants to stay like he is now?

" _No!"_

That he wants to stay with Gil?

" _No!"_

Does he want to be happy?

" _NONONONONO!"_

" _I don't_ _ **want**_ _to be happy! I_ _ **shouldn't**_ _be! I'm just a puppet! A doll! A toy! So stop crying you fool! You're going to fail your job."_

He frantically rubs his hands on his face, squeezing it a few times whilst doing so. He kept on crying, unable to control himself. He starts shaking and breathing rapidly, to supply his heart with the much-needed oxygen it needs to keep pounding.

" _Stop!"_

He bends forward over the sink.

" _Just STOP!_ "

He can't.

" _You're fucking_ _ **sick**_ _!"_

"STOP CRYING!" he grinned wickedly, tears causing the edges of his lips to glisten. He is still breathing rapidly.

He looks himself deep in the eyes in the mirror.

Somehow he starts to calm down.

" _Thaaat's right. Just smile. It doesn't matter why. You just need to make it_ _ **look**_ _like you're happy. You don't_ _ **need**_ _to be happy. A puppet doesn't need any emotions. So you can stop crying...You were never supposed to be happy in the first place, it's just back to the way it should be. You haven't lost anything, because you never had anything. It's as simple as that… you're just supposed to watch over that body, that's your only job._

"Wanna watch a movie together?"

"su-"

"Are you excited for your first day of scho-"

"Can you get me three e-"

"Quit being so ador-

"Are you sure you're Ok?"

" _Yes. Gilbert. I'm fine."_ he said with a bright smile on his face.

 **\\-=_=moo=_=-/**


	10. Chapter 10: Keep on smiling!

**Bonjour hoomans!**

 **I have returned with yet another chapter.  
Things are happening and the ending nears and I'm looking forward to it. I hope you are too!  
I think I said that I'd make it 20 chapters, but that isn't really going to work xD  
I'm not a very skilled writer, and I don't want to add random fluff chapters for the sole purpose of fluff, so making it longer is not an option, sawry.  
But I kinda gave up on this a few chapters ago but fecided to continue it anwyay, I'm glad I did!**

 **Enjoy!**

 _ **I don't own any of these characters**_

 **\\-=_=moo=_=-/**

The next day it was raining heavily, pouring as to say. At school Oz was thinking of a way to ruin Echo's life.

He couldn't really think of something, so he started off with "don't talk to me."

She must've been sad that a close friend suddenly turned his back at her. Oz also decided to write "UGLY WHORE" on her locker when nobody was around.

" _Should be enough for today…"_

Echo looked worried the entire day, occasionally peeking a glance at Oz, who just stared uninterestedly in front of him, ignoring her.

At the end of the day Echo approached him and asked if he was OK. Oz just repeated the same thing he said before.

"Don't talk to me."

Back home Gil got a worried call from Vincent, who had to comfort a crying Echo after school.

Apparently Oz had been ignoring her and she thought she had done something to hurt Oz. To make it worse someone wrote ugly whore on her locker.

"Oz, do you have anything to do with this?" Gil frowns at him.

"Of course not!"

"Who else could've done it?"

"Well.. I don't know… but why should _I_?"

"I don't know, why _would_ you?"

"I didn't!"

"Oz, you shouldn't do such things to her just because she rejected you.'

"But I didn't do anything!"

"Oz." Gil glares at him.

Oz just stares back in surprise.

Then he furrows his eyes. "Fine! Don't believe me then!" he rushes off to his room."

"Oz wait!"

He locks the door and lays down on his bed.

He puts the back of his hand over his eyes to block the light.

It is still pouring outside. The heavy raindrops smash against the windows, filling his room with the sound of splattering and a hammering impact.

Oz opens his eyes and moves his hand. He bends his head to his right and looks at the window. The raindrops gather into streams of water, flowing down the glass. Oz starts to smile, unsure why. He isn't happy, at least he doesn't think he is, but he smiles, and then he laughs. He laughs as if he's about to suffocate. He sways from side to side due to laughter. He doesn't know what is so funny. What could ever make him laugh so much? When he starts to think about it he realizes there isn't anything funny at all, besides Echo's depressed expression perhaps.

Ah, could that be it? Was that what made him laugh so uncontrollably?

No, but Oz decides that that's the reason why, because what other reason could there be?

Gil knocks on the door. Oz starts to cry in preparation.

"Oz, please open this door, I'm not mad at you."

"No, go away!"

"Oz, you should stop denying it, they have cameras at school. They have already contacted me and confirmed that it was you, but I'm not mad at you, I promise, I just want to talk."

" _crap."_

Oz thought he had it, but apparently he made a miscalculation: the fact that this is a very expensive school, and that things such as cameras are only natural for such high-class schools. He only dug his own grave deeper.

"I didn't do anything…"

Gil hears the bed creak from the weight being lifted.

"Oz.."

He walks towards the door.

"I didn't do anything!"

He puts his fingers on the key to the lock.

"Yes you did, Oz."

He gasps, "B-but, I-I didn't want t-to." he starts stuttering. He unlocks the door with a shaky hand.

Gil opens the door and Oz suddenly falls into his arms.

"I didn't want to!"

"Then why did you?"

"B-because they told me to."

Gil furrows his eyes, "they? Who is they?"

Oz keeps silent.

"Come on Oz, you need to tell me."

"Elliot and Leo."

"Who?"

"T-they are classmates." Oz sniffles.

"Why would they tell you to do something like that, and why did you listen to them?"

"B-because… they would p-punch me a-and kick me if I-if I didn't…"

Gil is taken aback.

"W.. what? You're getting bullied?! Oz! Why didn't you tell me?!"

"eh, I.."

"Oh Oz.." Gil gets down on one knee and hugs him. "How long has this been going on for?"

"A-a month?"

"That's since you started school."

"Yeah.."

"Would you like to talk about it?"

"Every day, after school, t-they'd beat me.."

" _every_ day?! Oz, why have you been enduring this all this time."

"It's not like I'm not used to it…"

"What are you talking about Oz! You shouldn't have to go through all that! _Nobody_ should.

"W-what do you m-mean?" Oz looks at him with wide eyes.

"You shouldn't be _used to it_ , you should just live your life, make friends and be happy! So I'm gonna make sure that they won't hurt you again, so that you can go to school without worry."

Oz stopped crying. "What are you talking about Gil? How am I supposed to be happy?"

" _how?_ Just like how you were so happy when you went to Echo's, and your first day of school."

Oz mumbled.

"Weren't you always happy when you were eating pancakes too?"

"Yeah.."

"You've been so depressed lately, I was so worried. I guess this is the reason why.."

"No it's not." Oz quickly puts his hand over his mouth, shocked that he actually said that."

"Hmm?"

It's too late, he heard it.

"You really worry too much Gil.."

"But I was right to worry, just look at yourself."

Even though it is just an act. Oz isn't keen on looking sad. He bets he looks disgusting now, with dried tears on his face, hunched over Gil's shoulders, like he has someone to comfort him, as if he has someone who cares about him. He must look like such filth right now.

"They won't hurt you again. Nobody will hurt you any more."

Oz wants to protest but has to do anything he can to keep it in. If Gil knew that his father would come back..

"Just like with Zai, Elliot and Leo will never hurt you again."

" _w-what?"_

"What do you mean? Just like Zai?"

"Well of course we can't have two kids sent to prison like your father.. But-"

Oz can't hear anything else that Gil says.

Zai? In prison? What? Why? What is he doing there?

"W-why is father in prison?" he looked Gil in the eyes.

"What? Because he hurt you of course! He treated you very badly."

Oz starts tearing up inside. What does he mean? _Hurt_ him? Treated him badly? He never did such thing! He gave him a purpose, so why is he in prison. For bringing him something to do with his useless life?

Another thunderbolt strikes, this time close to home. A flash of light comes through the window and the sound startles Oz, he jumps back over Gil's shoulders. He starts crying, but this time it wasn't an act. It's like his heart is being stomped on, his soul being ripped out of his body and shattering into a million irreparable pieces.

He tries to, but he can't hold back his tears. He starts to shake, he starts to shriek. Gil didn't expect such a strong reaction, but he tries to comfort him as well as he can, which isn't much. Oz continues to screech. Twisting, turning, flinging around, trying to get loose from Gil's grip, a grip that only remembers him that he lost his purpose. He wants to escape from this. From the realization, from the truth, from Gil, from Gil's sympathising frown which is practically asking for a punch.

He wants to go hide in a corner, with a knife, preferably a dull one, so that he could make some ugly cuts, but obviously Gil wouldn't allow this.

"LET GO OF ME!" Oz shout.

In a short daze Gil actually lets go and allows Oz to run to the bathroom.

Gil wonders about what he did that could cause Oz to be this angry at him so suddenly.

In the bathroom, after locking the door, Oz looks at himself in the mirror again.

 _Disgusting!_

 _Quit crying!_

 _But what am I supposed to do?!_

 _That doesn't matter, just stop being so sad._

 _How can I just_ _ **stop**_ _being sad?_

 _I did it before, just do it again…_

 **\\-=_=moo=_=-/**


	11. Chapter 11: Red sparkles!

**Greetings! Hoomans of earth! I have come in peace! with another chapter! Things are closing to the end!  
I think.**

 **Enjoy!**

 ** _I don't own any of these characters_**

 **\\-=_=moo=_=-/**

Oz starts to count the drops of rainwater falling into the bucket. With his black rabbit puppet held tight between his chest and his knees, eyes red and wet. A thin layer of dried tears on his face stops him from stretching it too much.

 _Two hundred._

 _One._

 _Two._

 _Three._

He's already over ten thousand, but he can't remember.

 _Four._

 _Five._

 _Six._

He had been counting for a long time now, not having much else to do.

 _Seven._

 _Eight._

 _Nine_

 _Two hundred and te-_

 _Eleven._

Apparently all he has to do is wait for his father to get back home, that's what he told him. Zai also told him not to cry, that he didn't have the right to do so, he also didn't have the right to think for himself, because when Oz asked why, he just got slapped and was told not to ask.

He was sitting on the sidewalk against a building with only his rabbit puppet with him. It was in the middle of the night. His mother had told him to wait there, then Zai came along and suddenly dragged Oz with him into his car. He had tried to fight back but Zai was too strong. It's not like a four-year old could do much.

 _Twelve._

 _Thirteen._

 _Fourteen._

When they finally got out of the car was the last time Oz had seen the night sky for years, before being locked in his small room.

 _Fifteen._

 _Sixteen._

Oz doesn't know how long he would be in there, but he decided it was best to listen to what Zai told him.

 _Seventeen._

 _Eighteen._

 _Two hundred and twenty- One._

 _Two._

Oz can"t remember how long he has been here, in this house, in this room.

 _Three._

 _Four._

 _Five._

It's not like all the counting has any purpose, other than distracting him from his own thoughts.

He loses count.

 _Two hundred and twenty.. what?_

 _One._

 _Two._

 _Three._

The drops start to fall slower and slower, until it stops. The rain dies down. Oz stares in front of him, and starts to cry again.

Later this day, Zai comes home and becomes furious at Oz. It is obvious he has been crying. Zai takes him by his throat and holds him up. It becomes hard to breathe but Oz doesn't resist. Zai throws him against the wall. Oz wonders how this wall hasn't broken after all the times he was flung against it.

 _One._

 _Two._

Three Punches against his face.

 _One._

 _Two._

Three knees onto his stomach.

An elbow against the back of his head.

He lets go of Oz so he falls to the floor. Four more stomps on his shoulders and back.

That makes ten in total. Oz expected more.

Zai leaves and locks the room.

"You'll get a cucumber tonight."

Oz hates the cucumber.

Hate, that would be the last time he did that, well that's what he wanted.

Because right now he really hates Gil. He hated him with every inch of his soul.

He turns on the tap just enough to make it drip.

 _One._

 _Two._

 _Three._

He starts to shake. He leans against the marmer sink, trying to keep himself up.

 _Four._

 _Five._

 _Six._

Counting the dripping doesn't seem to work. Thoughts of what Gil just told him are running wild in his mind.

 _Seven!_

 _Eight!_

He can't keep it under control, it's just too much for him to handle. His heart has always been rather fragile.

He lets out a frustrated groan and opens a cabinet. He takes out one of Gil's razors and puts it on the washing machine. He takes off all of his clothes and turns on the shower. He takes the razor and steps into the freezing ray of water.

He brings the razor over his chest and after hesitating for a short while he starts 'shaving' rather hard and violently, but it isn't working very well, he wishes he had an actual knife with him, that would make it a lot easier.

 _Maybe it would cut better at an angle.._

And sure enough, more blood starts to spill. He presses hard on his chest to make it as deep as possible. He's sure that this will cause scars, but what does it matter? He'll never see his father again. This body can never do its job anymore. It isn't needed in this world any longer. It has no use, no purpose.

It might as well disappear and nobody would notice. So he keeps cutting and he keeps crying, still unable to make it stop, only adding to his frustration, not realizing that it is the pain that's now the main cause for those tears. He starts to feel a bit light-headed.

Outside the bathroom Gil could hear Oz crying. He knocks on the door. "Oz, are you okay? I'm sorry if I said anything that hurt you, please open up."

"I'm taking a shower! Go away!" he said with a raspy and shaky voice.

The blood is still pouring out of all the wounds covering his body.

Gil sighs. He walks away, but when he hears a muffled sound of something falling on the floor he turned back around. He's sure that it is Oz. He slams his fists against the door.

"OZ! ARE YOU OK IN THERE?!"

He gets no response.

"He jumps against the door with his shoulder, trying to break it open. "OZ!"

Oz had fainted due to a major blood loss. He fell away from the shower. His head now lays next to the toilet. His legs pulling the shower curtain tight.

Gil couldn't open the door, the door turned outward from the bathroom so he can't kick it down. Unable to do anything else he quickly takes out his phone and calls 911. As an ambulance is on its way Gil hurries to a storage closet and takes out a tool box. He opens it and pulls out a hammer.

He goes back to the bathroom and smashes it against the door, next to the handle. He thinks that he might be able to open the door by unlocking it through a hole he can fit his hand into. He keeps slamming it against the door. It cracked and crunched, the wood splintering in the process. He uses the other, more pointy side of the hammer to force the wood to break, using it as a crowbar.

He peels off some shards. The hole is now too large to use the hammer on it as a crowbar. Now pulls the hammer, so he can push his leg against the wall and force the hole to open up his way.

Eventually the hole becomes large enough for him to fit his hand through and unlock the door.

But what he sees on the other side is not something he'd like to see.

Oz is covered in cuts, fresh blood lines his skin to the floor where it gathers into small pools.

His body sparkles lightly from the reflection on the water over him. The shower is still running.

Many things cross Gil's mind right now.

What did he do?

Why did he do it?

Did _I_ do anything to make it turn this way?

But he knows he doesn't have time to think of such matters right now. He has to stop Oz's bleeding. He has lost enough blood already. He takes the clothing that Oz put on the washing machine. And presses it against his body where the cuts seem deep, mainly on his chest. He pulls Oz into a better position, head and back resting on Gil's hand and arm. Even his face is cut all over.

Gil binds some clothing over the wounds on his arms and legs as well, but keeps his focus on his chest.

This is all he can do until the ambulance arrives.

 **\\-=_=moo=_=-/**


	12. Chapter 12: A beautiful lady!

**Hey there hoomans! I think chapter 13 will be the final chapter :p**

 **Followed by an epilogue for chapter 14.**

 **But here ya got chapter 12, Enjoy!**

 _ **I don't own any of these characters.**_

 **\\-=_=moo=_=-/**

Oz wakes up in a hospital bed.

He slowly opens his eyes, it's dark so his eyes don't have to adjust to anything. But he does feel tired, so keeping his eyes open is a tad harder than he expected.

He can feel something pushing on his chest, the bandages that stopped the bleeding. He looks around and sees Gil lying with his head in his arms on the bed.

The Jerk.

Gil is the last thing Oz wants to see right now.

How did he get here anyway?

He was in the bathroom under the shower cutting himself, so how did he get here? Did he pass out?

He thinks that that's most likely,

He tries to keep his eyes open for as long as possible, but his natural reflexes forces them to close.

It feels really nice, resting your eyes, so he opens them again.

He hears beeping, probably a heart monitor. He looks around again and to his right stands a long metal bar. On top hang several bags. He follows the tubes coming out of the bags with his eyes and sees them disappear under a bandage on his right arm. There are several more spots on his arms covered in bandages. Some band-aids were used as well. He looks Gil again.

 _Asshole_

 _Idiot_

 _Jerkface_

 _Loner._

 _What are you doing here?_

 _What do_ _ **you**_ _care?_

Oz growls softly.

 _Piss off._

He tries to move his legs, but something is stopping them. He struggles more but can't seem to get loose. He throws the blanket over Gil and sees what was blocking his legs.

They were strapped down by brown belts from the sides of the bed.

 _Are you serious!?_

The doctor and assistants found it necessary to make sure Oz couldn't leave the bed. It wasn't clear what his intentions were when he cut himself to pieces, but it was clear that he was, and is, a danger to himself. Allowing him to move freely didn't sound like a smart idea.

Oz sighed.

He snatches back the blanket forcefully, pulling Gil along and waking him.

"H-humm?" he mumbles something.

Then he realizes he is in the hospital, on Oz's bedside.

"O-Oz? Are you awake?"

"Obviously."

Gil doesn't say anything, so Oz decides he should make the first move.

"Why am I tied down?"

Oz can't see Gil's facial expression, it is too dark, but he is sure that he's frowning.

Thank god it is dark, if he would see his face he'd really like to punch it.

"Well… it's to make sure that you stay safe."

"Tch."

"Oz, why would you do that? If you really were that deep into the dumps, why didn't you tell me?"

Oz doesn't give any signs of answering.

"Oz! Please! Tell me.."

"Can you turn on the lights?"

Why did he say that?

Why'd he want that?

He doesn't want to see his face, does he?

What good would light do to him, or rather, what _bad_ , since that is what he wants, that is what he thinks he wants.

As Gil stands up and walks towards the door, Oz can't stop but struggle against himself. He wants to shout at him to stop, to keep the lights off, but what he wants to say doesn't reach his mouth, so he stays silent, knowing he'll regret it.

The lights turn on, Oz shuts his eyes for a quick second before slowly opening them to adjust to the light.

He looks up to see Gil staring at him. He doesn't move, as if he just looked into the eyes of medusa, but instead of the fear Oz hoped the lady would instill on him, Gil looks at him with pity, with sadness, with sympathy. The last really gets on Oz's nerves.

Oz furrows his eyes and looks at him angrily. "What?" he snaps at Gil.

Gil quickly walks to Oz's bedside **.**

"What is it?"

Gil puts his hand Oz's cheeks. He uses his thumb to rub under Oz's eye. He also wipes the other eye with his other hand. Oz feels a strange feeling of emptiness under his eyes, like something is missing. It also feels a bit dryer than before. Oz tries to look at Gil's thumb to see what he just wiped off. Parts of his finger glisten under the light.

What _is_ that?

"It's ok to cry Oz.."

He pulls Oz into an embrace, holding the back of his head against his chest. His other hand on the bow of the small boy's back.

Oz's eyes widen. He had been crying?

"e?"

He starts to count.

"One, two, t-three.."

But it isn't raining. He starts to shake.

He slams a fist against Gil's chest, but he doesn't budge.

"Four, f-five."

The fist opens up under his shoulder.

He pushes his fingers into Gil's chest, but he is trembling too much and is too weak to put enough force into it.

"si-six"

"Just let it out Oz."

He starts to grope Gil's shirt.

"S-se-"

He can feel tears running down his face. He can't keep up resisting anymore, he's too weak, how disgusting.

"S-seven."

Oz starts to cry. He screams into Gil's shirt.

"I-I hate you G-Gil!"

Gil doesn't seem to care that he just said that.

"Why c- why can't you just l-leave m-me alone! You freaking l-loner!"

Again Gil doesn't react.

Oz screams again, partly due to frustration. He wants to push him away, he keeps telling himself that. He's commanding his arms to just push, that's all they have to do, push, it's not like it's _that_ hard, so why can't he do it? Why won't his body listen?

It's a simple request. This is not the right time to be so stubborn you damned body! Just push! PUSH! "I'll cut you up!" Why can't they just listen? Why won't they?

Now he's desperately clinging onto Gil, but he doesn't want to.

He can't let go off his shirt, but he wants to.

He keeps crying and screeching into Gil's shirt. It is really wet by now, from the tears, and from the saliva.

Oz ruined Gil's shirt. He brings nothing but problems. Disgusting.

Gil is wet now, all because of him.

Does he bring **any** good to this world?

He should stop crying, he doesn't deserve to, but he can't. He has no control over it, his body just does whatever it wants.

Maybe it doesn't listen because he hurt it, when he doesn't have the right to do so. Maybe it refuses to listen because only Zai may play with this puppet, and Oz broke that rule.

His mind isn't strong enough to control his body, because he has no soul, he has no purpose.

 **\\-=_=moo=_=-/**


	13. Chapter 13: Cute doggy!

**\\-=_=moo=_=-/**

Gil rubs Oz's back, trying to comfort him, and possible calm him down.

But it doesn't seem like he's going to relax any time soon. Though he stopped screaming, he's still trembling like he's in a freezing pool of water.

He has moved his arms from groping Gil's shirt to groping Gil in his entirety, now hugging him tightly. It scares Gil that Oz has so much strength left to be able to squeeze him as much as he is doing now, but eventually Oz's muscles falter and he has to quit tensing them for a few seconds, before pulling Gil back into a tight embrace with no escape.

"G-Gil?!

"Yes?"

"A-I, I," he keeps stuttering. It seems like his body doesn't even want to allow him to speak.

"I, I."

"Oz, breathe."

Oz tries to do as Gil says. He draws in a large breath and slowly blows it out of his nose. Gil feels the air flow over his shirt. Oz's arms release the tension they held on Gil's waist, allowing him to breathe freely now as well. Though calmer than before, Oz is still shaking like a madman and crying a river. Gil pushes Oz away a few inches so that he can look at his face. Oz looks up at Gil as well, still crying. He starts to hiccup.

Gil simply looks at him, smiling.

Oz really wants to punch him.

Why is he smiling?

When obviously Oz is very sad.

It pisses him off.

Gil puts his hand over Oz's ear and scratches the back of it.

What the hell is wrong with this idiot?

"I'm not a -hic- dog, idiot."

Oz stops shaking, frustration taking over.

"So you don't think it feels nice?"

Gil continues scratching.

Oz's anger vanishes into a mist of embarrassment.

"I-I -hic- I never said that." he pouted.

Gil chuckles.

Oz has always been sensitive around the ears. Gil knows that.

"-Hic-"

"You want some water?"

Gil shifts away from Oz but is pulled to a stop. Oz is clinging to his shirt.

Gil turns around and sees Oz looking at him, frightened for some unknown reason. Even _he_ doesn't fully understand why. What he _does_ understand is that he doesn't want Gil to leave. Why exactly that is, he doesn't know.

"Don't go."

Gil listens to the boy, but he can't let him keep the hiccups like that, so he presses a button to call for someone to bring them water in Gil's stead.

Oz has already toned down to a soft sniffling when the assistant comes in with some water. She looks at Oz for a few seconds, curious to the reason he's crying, but she knows she shouldn't ask and she shouldn't stare, that would make the patient uncomfortable. So she sets her gaze on Gil when bringing in the water and leaves right away after a simple "here you go"

Gil pours a glass of water and hands it to Oz, who tugs it all down in a single move.

"-Hic-

"Drink slowly Oz, and hold your breath after a few sips."

Gil pours him another cup of water.

Now Oz does as Gil recommended.

The hiccups stop.

"Gil?"

"Yes?"

"Why do you bother with me so much?"

Gil is surprised by that question.

"Well that's simple: because I love you."

Oz blushes, "w-what?"

"Because I love you."

Oz is lost in words.

"B-but, but w-why would you l-love someo-one like me?"

"What's _that_ supposed to mean, Oz? You're an amazing child, there's nothing wrong with you."

"Eh-uuuh… you're lying!" Oz tries to deny it. There is so much wrong him him.

"I can't think of a single thing that's bad about you."

He's wrong, the list can go on for ages.

He has no soul.

He has no use to this world.

He's a disgusting piece of filth.

He made Echo cry.

He wet Gil's shirt.

He kept waking Gil up with his nightmares.

He cut his poor body to pieces.

And he can keep counting.

"You're wrong," Oz looks down, "I've only been a bother to you. I'm useless."

"If you really bothered me as much as you claim you're doing, I wouldn't be so happy to see you every day, and do things together with you every day. _You_ are wrong, Oz, How can it be that someone who makes me so happy, is useless?"

Oz looks up from his lap. "W-what? You don't need me.."

"If I didn't have you with me, I think I'd really _be_ a loner, and I would get depressed because of that, but with you there with me, that would never happen."

Oz blushes. "W-what are you talking about!? I've been rubbing it in on you all the time, how did _that_ make you happy!?"

"Because I know you meant it well."

"What is there to mean well in calling you a loner!?"

"I don't know. What I _do_ know is, that for some reason, I get really happy when you call me that."

Gil smiles at him.

"What a weird guy you are.."

"You are too, getting yourself into such trouble for absolutely no reason. What would I have done if you had died?" his eyes become wet. He hugs Oz.

Oz is a bit flustered.

He hugs him back.

"I-I'm sorry…" he says apologetically.

Oz isn't sure what to make of everything Gil said, but genuinely feels ashamed that he worried him so much.

But now what is he supposed to do?

He doesn't want to make Gil worry any more than he has already, but what is he supposed to do now that he has no purpose? Now that his father is in prison, his body has no use, but after all Gil said, he can't get rid of it.

"Don't be.. I just want you to be happy, Oz."

He wants him to be happy? How is he supposed to do that?

"How do I.. 'be happy'?"

"Well, what makes you feel happy?"

"I don't know."

"What makes you feel all giddy inside? What makes your heart feel warm and light?"

"Uhhh… pancakes?"

Gil laughed. "Then I want you to eat pancakes every week."

"Only _once_ a week?" Oz pouted.

"If you get diabetes and die of a heart attack I will be anything but happy, so yes, only once a week."

"I thought you said I should be happy."

"I'm sure pancakes are not the only thing that make you happy. Think, what else makes you happy?"

"Watching TV with you."

"Now we're getting somewhere. What shows do you like to watch?"

"Family guy.. Total drama… Spongebob.. Anything on Discovery Channel." Oz looks Gil in the eyes. Gil still smiles, but fell silent. Oz is waiting for a response.

Gil sighed. "Fine, I'll unblock it, but then I'll unblock National Geographic too."

"Sure."

"But what else? Doesn't being around Echo make you happy?"

"I guess.."

"You guess?"

"It's different with her. I feel a weight on my stomach, an annoying feeling, but still warm."

Gil is now grinning from ear to ear and chuckling lighty. "Aaah, so you have a crush on her.."

Oz bobs his head to the side questioningly, "a crush? What is that? It doesn't sound fun."

"It means you're in love with her."

Oz starts to blush a deep red and panic. He waves his arms in front of him frantically. "W-wait! T-that's not it! It's not! I swear!"

"Sure." Gil teases sarcastically.

"Really! It's different!"

"Does your heart start pounding when she's near?"

"Yes, b-but-"

"And you start to feel nervous?"

"I'm not in- in love with her!"

"And you to just tease her?"

"N-No! Quit it!"

"You don't need to hide it. It's only natural."

Oz stopped flailing his arms around.

"W-what?"

"It's normal for a boy your age to fall in love, while I have to admit 12 years old is a bit early, a changing mind and body is not something to be worried about."

"What are you talking about? What's changing?"

"Well. Ya know you were naked when I managed to get into the bathroom, and it's not hard to miss."

Oz's face was still red from the loving thing, if it could darken any more it probably would've done so now, because the amount of awkward embarrassment Gil just threw at him really do a great job to get his heart pounding like crazy.

"Y-ou PERVERT!" Oz pushes Gil back a few inches. Gil keeps smiling.

Not being able to get his frustration across really gets on Oz's nerves, so he decides to punch him next, but ir isn't very effective, since he's exhausted. Gil is still smiling.

"PERVERTED LONER! You'll never get a girlfriend like that!"

Oz can't wipe the smirk off his face. He keeps punching him.

He's sure his embarassment makes Gil smile even more. So he stops hitting him, turns his head away, and locks his arms infront of him, hoping a silent treatment will have a better effect.

Oz hears Gil laugh for a few more seconds before it dies down.

Yes… it's working!

"Oz?"

He stays silent.

"Oooz."

Still no reply.

"Did I take it too far? If so, I'm sorry. Can you turn back around?"

Oz gives no intention of moving, not even an inch.

"Oz! C'mon! I said I'm sorry! What else do you want?"

It wasn't his intention at first, but now that the opportunity arose he isn't going to let it go.

"Pancakes." he demands, "I want pancakes."

 **\\-=_=moo=_=-/**


	14. Epilogue: Cats, bunnies and bees!

It is now near the end of October. It has been almost a year since the incident, Oz has set his goal to fulfilling Gil's wish: for himself to be happy.

Vincent invited the two for a halloween party and they are going to attend. He's gonna go and enjoy the shit out of it, with Gil, with Echo, with Alice and everyone else.

But first they need costumes, since that was the only requirement Vincent made they both take it _very_ seriously, they don't want to be on his bad side after all.

Now they are trying to figure out what they should wear.

"Hmm.. How about a vampire?" Gil suggests.

"That's such a cliché, we have to be better than that, we need something more original."

"Then what do _you_ suggest?"

"Eeh… well we don't _have_ to pick a monster. Maybe an animal?"

Oz already has something in mind, now he just needs to convince Gil to wear it.

"Like a bat?" Gilbert suggests.

"No! That'll just be mistaken for a vampire."

"I see your point… but an animal sounds like a good idea. What else could we do? A monkey? A cat? OOH! Yes! A cat! That would fit you perfectly!"

"Why would a _cat_ fit me?"

"an angry black cat actually."

Oz growls at him.

"See?"

"That's more like a dog, idiot!"

Gil laughs, "So you don't want to be cat? I'm sure Echo would like it.."

Oz is silent for a few seconds, thinking about that possibility.

"Fine, a cat is fine… under one condition."

"Hmm?"

" _You_ have to dress like a black bunny."

"Why a black bunny?" he asks as he smirks, having noticed how easily Oz gave in after that comment.

"'Cuz I said so."

"I guess that'd be ok.."

"But where are we gonna get these costumes from?"

"We can just order them online, the party is over two weeks."

"That's cool. Can we do it now?"

"Sure."

They go to the computer in Gil's room and look at some costumes on Amazon.

"How about this one?" Gil asks.

"No, the ears are too short, they have to be long."

"Hmmm… This one then?"

Oz is intrigued, "Can you make it larger?"

Gil clicks on the image.

"It's perfect!" Oz exclaims. The ear hanging down from the middle. The paws practically missing, just a few threads imitating the space between the fingers.

"Really? It looks a bit beaten-down."

"It's perfect." Oz says seriously as he glares at him.

"E-eeh, ok then, this one it is."

Gil ads the costume to the shopping cart.

"For you… ah, this looks nice," Gil clicks on the image, "It's a Cheshire cat costume."

"Cheshire? What's that?"

It's a cat that guarded the lost memories of a young girl. She did not want those memories because they brought her pain, so she scattered them into various pieces. The cheshire cat took care of a fragment of it."

"Interesting… what happened to him?"

"In the end the girl regained all her memories and the cat didn't need to guard them anymore."

Oz finds this story really interesting.

"How did she regain her memories?"

"She simply looked for them, she got some help of course."

"Why would she want them back if they were so bad?"

"Well without memories she just felt an emptiness inside. She thought that no matter how bad it was, she didn't want to go through life not knowing who exactly she is."

 _"Who exactly I am, huh?_ "

Oz wonders of all those memories of his father are relevant to his current situation with Gil. He doesn't feel any kind of emptiness in particular, and he clearly knows who exactly he is: Oz Nightray, son of Gilbert Nightray.

He does find it weird that Gil is only 20 and he is 13 and wonders how such weird adoption came to be, but he doesn't really care that much about it to ask. What he'd like to know is what Gil actually considers himself to be towards Oz. Like a brother? Or a father? Now that he's thinking about it he becomes curious.

Would Gil like it if he called him 'dad'? Or would he think it'd be weird?

There's no other way to figure it out but to ask.

"Gil?"

"Yeah?"

"What am I to you?"

Gil stops scrolling. "what?"

"How are we… related?"

Gil opens his mouth to answer but shuts it again, not really sure anymore what to say.

After thinking for a few seconds he says: "I guess you'd be my little brother, that'd make most sense, but why ask now all of a sudden?"

"I was just wondering…"

In a week's time the costumes arrive.

They decide to put them on to test if they fit or not.

Oz thinks they look perfect. Gil agrees but also believes that his costume is very inconvenient; he can't really hold anything with the paws he has, there isn't even a separate hole for his thumb, it's just like a sac pulled over his hand. He looks like a poorly made stuffed animal. Though he has to admit that the ears look nice, and he likes how black it is.

"How do I look?" Oz walks through the door, wearing his cat costume.

"Cute." Gil says teasingly.

"Great." Oz smiles and stands in front of the mirror. "I wonder if Echo would like it."

Gil is disappointed that he didn't get an embarrassed reaction from that.

He just stares at him, partly frustrated by it.

" _whaat?"_ Oz doesn't understand why Gil is staring at him.

"You wanna impress Echo?" Gil gives it another shot.

"Well yeah."

Since when is this brat so cool-headed? Gil sighs, which gets Oz anxious

"What is it? Is there something wrong with that?"

"Nonono, it's great, forget I said anything."

"Alright then… what should I do with my hair? Can I have it dyed black? It's a black cat after all.."

"I guess we could.."

"Yay! Should I pull it back? Or make it spiky?.."

"Either is fine."

"But which one's better?"

"You're worrying too much, I'm sure Echo will like it either way."

"But what would she like most?"

Gil sighs again, "It doesn't really matter right now, we can decide what looks better on you the day we go to the party."

"you're right.."

"Do you want to do anything later today?"

"Sorry, I've already got something planned with some friends."

After Elliot and Leo stopped bothering Oz he became much more sociable. He has gotten to know his classmates better and goes over to Echo's and other friends houses more often. Though he still comes home exhausted every time and on some occasions earlier than Gil expected. It appears you can't take the introvert out of him. Gil is a little bit relieved by this. Oz's friends are hogging him all for themselves lately!

Oz notices Gil's annoyed expression.

"What's wrong Gil?"

"Nothing…"

"You should get a girlfriend." he hits the nail straight on its head.

"I'm gonna change back." Oz quickly escapes, as a precaution for what Gil might do to him.

"Little brat…" Gil grumbles.

A week later they are in front of Vincent`s home. The gate was open so they just walked through. Vincent is standing in front of the door to his home, letting other guests in.

Oz is getting excited to see his friends again, or rather, to see Echo again.

Vincent greets them once they reach the door.

"Welcome Gilbert, Oz!"

They greet him back.

"So what are you dressed as? Hmmm… You look like a bunny," he points at Gil, "and you're a cat. And both of you black as ever of course." he laughs.

"And you are… "

"A vampire." Oz finishes. They both look disappointed. They expected something better, especially from Vincent.

"Nonono! I'm a vampire _wolf_! See these ears?" he bends his head down and holds an ear to showcase it.

"I see…" Gil remarks disinterested.

"Anyway, where can I find Echo? And the others."

Vincent smiles at him. He bends through his back to get on the same level as Oz.

"I've noticed you've been hanging around with Echo a lot lately."

Oz wonders where this is going.

"I swear to god, if you even to dare touch my anger little sister I will rip your balls off."

Oz takes a step back.

"YA HEAR ME?"

"Y-YES SIR!"

"AND YOU HAVE TO TREAT HER LIKE A LADY! NO! A PRINCES!"

"OF COURSE! YES!"

"NOW GO DOWN THE HALL, TURN LEFT, LAST DOOR TO YOUR RIGHT AND MAKE SURE SHE HAS FUN TONIGHT!"

"YES SIR!"

"AND NO ' _BOYS'_ KIND OF FUN."

"YES! OF COURSE NOT!"

"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR! GO!"

Oz quickly walks past him and follows the directions he told him.

"Aren't you being a bit too harsh?" Gil asks

"Are you complaining?"

"Nope, you got some alcohol here? Or some single girls would be nice too…"

"Pretty girls in skinny outfits, plenty of 'em, and enough alcohol for an army."

"I didn't ask for that but ok."

"Oh, you don't like that stuff?"

"I'm not a pervert like you."

"Ouch. Well they're here anyway! Let's go meet some of 'em!" Vincent pushes Gil inside and drags him to the living room.

Over at the room with Echo are several other kids as well. Most of them he knows, some of them he doesn't. They are all playing little big planet on the Playstation again.

Echo is dressed like a bee. With yellow fluffy balls hanging over her head, and she's wearing shorts.

 _Shorts_ , Oz repeats in his mind.

"How does it look?" Echo takes a step back and slowly turns around once, allowing Oz to see every part of it clearly, but his attention is focussed a little lower.

"You look great!" Oz exclaims after she turns back around to face him.

"Yay! Bzzz. You look great yourself! I like those ears." she takes a step closer again. "You dyed your hair black?"

"Yeah, well, Gil did it for me, do you like it?"

"I love it!"

" _yuss!"_ Oz wants to squeal, happy that she likes it.

"Wanna play some boardgames?"

"sure!"

Later that night they play little big planet together again, sitting on the couch.

Oz holds Echo's hand. They slowly close their heads together, then they rub their cheeks against each others with wide smiles on their faces.

"Hey what are you two doing?! Go stand on that button! I can't get past this ravine!"

Oz and Echo walk on, leaving the other kid's sackboy to die.

Oz and Echo burst into laughter.

 **\\-=_=moo=_=-/**

 **There you have it people! This story is now finished! I really hoped you enjoyed it!**

 **I had such a fun time writing this! Though I'll admit it's a bit short, I believe I did quite well for my first fanfiction! hehe.  
I've already improved quite a bit (no smug intended) since I began with this fanfiction so I think I might rewrite it and add some more chapters later on.  
But right now my original book (Oizys on quotev) takes top priority. It's funny how it's already thrice the length of this fanfiction.**

 **Enough about me! let's get back to the story!  
I had been pondering for a while on how to end this story and after reconsideration I still think the current one is the best.  
I was thinking of giving it a ''happy ever after'' ending but that wouldn't make sense with everything Oz went through as a child. It's more realistic for there to be some remaining negative consequences for all the abuse he went through, hence he still believes in having a specific ''job'' in life. Gil gave him a new job after he lost his previous one, but who knows if Oz's current job will last?  
He also still strongly believes in the seperation between his mind and body, thinking of his body as a being on its own, but now he will actually listen to its demands a little.  
His memory still is a mess, only remembering ****necessities for his job.**

 **Of course things aren't going to be perfect, and definitely not so fast. It's sad but it's true.**

 **If you enjoyed it, didn't, or have anything else to say/ask, please do so! You can also PM me if you like!  
Seriously, say something! please! ;-;**

 **I don't know what you think of it, so how am I supposed to edit it and make it more appealing to you? I would really appreciate some pointers, since so many people drop out after only chapter 1. ;-;**


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